Chicken Pox
by Heartbroken Confession
Summary: Love. "Is dry skin supposed to make you look like a red Dalmatian?" "No." "I'm MUTATING!" "Stupid! It's probably just the Chicken Pox." "...What does me mutating have to do with a chicken?" The REAL reason why Natsume calls Mikan Polka Dots. One-shot NxM


I wonder why I've been writing so much crack-like fics lately. Anyways,

I do not own Gakuen Alice. No matter how much I wish I did.

**Chicken Pox **

By: Heartbroken Confession

--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--

"What does me mutating have to do with a chicken?"

--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--

The fresher and less knowledgeable students at Alice Academy wondered about many things. For example, would Nogi Ruka ever escape Imai Hotaru's blackmailing? Is Tobita Yuu, affectionately known as Iinchou, really a boy? Was the rumor about Jinno-sensei going out with his pet frog really true?

And then the biggest question of all.

Why did Hyuuga Natsume call Sakura Mikan Polka Dots?

The students that _thought_ they knew the answer would explain the whole "Natsume-stealing-Mikan's-panties" predicament, much to Mikan's horror (Narumi always did have a big mouth.)

But only the most knowledgeable and wise students knew the true reason. Who were these well-informed students?

Who other than the famous high school senior couple themselves and their closest friends?

--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--

"Ne, ne, did you hear?" A middle school girl asked her friend, her shoulder-length curly blonde hair bouncing up and down with her.

"Hm?" Her friend replied, her red eyes looking up from the book she was reading to her friend.

"Your brother's apparently a big pervert!" Hyuuga Aoi raised a brow at her friend Ria; was she crazy?

"No! I'm serious!" Ria huffed "Haven't you ever wondered why your brother always called Sakura-san 'Polka-dots'?"

Aoi tapped her pen against her chin and looked up to the ceiling of the library. True, that had been something that she had pondered upon. Though, it was nothing out of the ordinary to wonder about that. It was one of the '7 Wonders of Our Generation's Alice Academy'.

"Well, yes. But how does that make Natsume-nii a pervert?" Aoi questioned her friend, suspicious of the mischievous glint in her friend's sky blue eyes.

"Well the reason is---" Ria was about to begin explaining when another girl came along; her red hair flying behind her as she ran to them; slamming her hands on the table.

"Oh my gosh! Did you know that your brother stole Sakura-san's panties when they were 10?!" Hitomi cried, her eyes still wide with shock.

Ria groaned at this, "I was just about to say that!"

Aoi stared at the two as if they'd both grown 10 heads. She was frozen in her seat.

The 3 stood in silence as Ria and Hitomi stared at Aoi with worry; was she okay?

The silence was broken by a chuckle and the 3 turned their heads to the table near the window where it came from.

Sitting there, peering above her book, was none other than the famously (infamously in some(most) cases) popular senior, Imai Hotaru, a.k.a. The Blackmailing Queen. Supreme, sometimes added for dramatic effect.

"The rumor that Narumi spread around is still in circulation I see." Hotaru commented, putting down her book and resting her elbow on the table; placing her head on her hand.

"Wait, rumor? So Natsume-sama never stole Sakura-san's undergarments?" Ria questioned, her face clearly disappointed at the loss of a good explanation to one of the biggest wonders of the academy.

"No. That part is still true." Hotaru examined the revived look of hope on the blonde and red headed girls. She grinned, she could already smell the profit.

"But. That's not the reason."

"Then what is it?" Ria and Hitomi frowned as Aoi twitched.

So, her brother was basically a pervert? And one of those really creepy closet perverts that kept their pervertedness a secret?

This explains a lot, Aoi nodded to herself. His infatuation with manga books! They must have been porn books in disguise!

Hotaru smirked. "Come here, I'll tell you a good story..."

The girls made their way over to the senior in excitement that the popular senior was going to let them in on such an exclusive secret.

"That is, if you're willing to pay."

--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--

**7 Years Prior, 5th Grade. **

Sakura Mikan took a seat across from Hyuuga Natsume as the rest of the gang shuffled out of their puffy winter coats and uniform scarves.

"It's freezing out!" Shouda Sumire whined, flicking snow off of her green permed hair.

Anna and Nonoko nodded in agreement, taking the seats next to her.

"That's just cause girl's are too w-weak to handle anything!" Mochu scoffed, Koko and Kitsuneme nodded in agreement, though they were shivering in their seats from the cold.

"Yeah, right! You guys are the weak ones!" Anna retorted.

"Nuh-uh!"

"Yeah-huh!"

"Nuh-uh!"

"Yeah-hu--" Poor Mochu got punched by Sumire.

Ruka and Hotaru sighed as everyone but them, Natsume, and Mikan engaged in a scuffle.

Mikan sat in her seat, seemingly glaring at Natsume's moving hand, her usual smile and cheery aura not present.

"What's up with you today?" Hotaru questioned, noticing her friend's strange behavior.

Natsume glanced up from his homework, that he was surprisingly doing, to meet the girl's glare.

"What?" Natsume returned the glare.

"I'm..." Mikan started. The 4 of them sat in silence, only their friends squabbling at each other was audible.

"Itchy..." Mikan's frowned deepened as Ruka fell out of his seat (the other two had the audacity to hide their surprise at her strange response).

"Lose your balance, Nogi?" Hotaru mocked, deciding to ignore her friend's strange response for now.

"Just a little." Ruka mumbled, sitting back up on his chair.

"So, you're doing homework, such a rarity... What subject is it for?" Ruka asked his crimson eyed friend.

Of course, the 3 of them concluded that if they ignored Mikan's strange response she wouldn't push it any further. It would be a very... awkward situation to ask her _where_ she was itchy.

"I'm going to kill Narumi one day. I have to do a research paper about 'down under'," Natsume replied, flipping the page in his textbook.

"Oh, you're looking up stuff about Australia?" Ruka said, glancing at Natsume's textbook.

Natsume smirked, "That's what he meant, but that's not the place I'm doing."

Ruka sighed at his friend's slightly immature antics, "Think of it this way, I'm doing a little research about my future home." Natsume scoffed, referring to his quickly shortening lifespan.

"Natsu--" Ruka was interrupted by a sniffle. Everyone turned to Mikan to see her biting her bottom lip; her eyes overflowing with tears.

"Mikan... are you crying because you're _itchy_?" Hotaru asked incredulously.

"How stupid." Natsume snorted.

"Now, now," Ruka waved his hand at them, how could they be so mean when she was about to cry?

"But, but, I don't even know WHY or WHERE I'm itchy!" Mikan whined, the tears pouring out of her eyes like a river breaking through a dam.

The 3 of them smacked their forehead for dramatic effect. Boy was this girl.. something.

"It's probably just dry skin, idiot." Hotaru informed the crying brunette.

"Imai-san's right, Sakura, it is really cold and chap out." Ruka commented.

"Hn." Natsume turned back to his book.

"Oh!" Mikan responded in realization. "You guys are right! Silly me, I got so worked up over dry skin!" And with that, Mikan returned to normal.

Mystery solved.

Or so they thought.

--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--

Natsume had just returned to his dorm from writing his research paper (he couldn't wait to see Narumi's reactoin) when his phone began to ring.

"Hn?" Natsume replied.

"Natsume." Mikan's voice came through from the other line.

"What do you want now, Sakura?"

"Is dry skin supposed to make you look like a red Dalmatian?" Mikan asked.

"If you're referring to the same pattern as your underwear, then, no." Natsume replied; silence came from the other line.

"Oh my goodness." He heard Mikan whisper in a tone of realization.

"What?" Natsume asked; slightly concerned, jumping on top of his kitchen counter to get some chips.

"I'm MUTATING!" The infamous Black Cat fell down and landed flat on his butt for the first time.

"Stupid! It's probably just the Chicken Pox." Natsume shook his head, rubbing his aching bottom.

"...What does me mutating have to do with a chicken?"

Natsume slapped his palm against his face. Did this girl get anymore oblivious?

"Sakura, you're sick, not mutating."

"Wait, so I have a disease?! No! I'd rather mutate!" Mikan whined.

Natsume sighed. "I'll be right over..." He grumbled.

"What if I make you diseased too?!" Mikan questioned with genuine worry.

"Calm down. I had the Chicken Pox when I was 5. I'll be fine."

"Oh, okay. You need me to do anything?"

"Yeah, get a meals worth of oatmeal ready." And with that, Natsume hung up.

--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--

Natsume was greeted at the girl's one-star room by a girl coated in red dots, itching the crap out of the bumps.

"Stop doing that unless you want scars all over you. They'll make you look even uglier than you already are."

Mikan frowned but chose to ignore his comment. "Did you finish your project?"

"Yeah. But your stupid tears got on it, so I had to rewrite it." Natsume mocked, referring to when she had started crying. "Who cries because they're itchy?"

"I wasn't crying because I was itchy." Mikan sighed, she wasn't _that_ childish.

Natsume quirked a brow at her. "Uh-huh. And you were crying..."

"I didn't like the idea of you thinking that hell would be your future home." Mikan explained.

"I--"

"You're not gonna die that soon, Natsume! You're gonna grow to be one of those cute old men that love their grandchildren and is a great husband to his wife! And when you do die, you'll end up in heaven!" Mikan yelled, tears streaming down her cheeks.

Natsume stood there, appalled and speechless.

"I... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you cry." Natsume muttered.

This time, it was Mikan's turn to look appalled. Did Hyuuga Natsume just apologize to her? She was about to ask him to repeat it when she caught sight of the red bumps on her arm. Damn, she was itchy!

She looked in the other direction, it would probably be better to drop the topic. "So, why did you need me to make oatmeal?"

Natsume peered into the giant pot of oatmeal she prepared, yup, it was definitely enough to bathe in. He took the pot and walked into her bathroom, pouring it into the tub.

"We, are going to bathe you in it."

"PERVERT!!!" Mikan accused, backing away from the boy. "You're taking advantage of me cause I'm deathly sick, aren't you!"

"Chicken pox is nowhere near deathly sick. And it's not like I'm going to be _watching_ you bathe. The oatmeal is supposed to reduce the itchiness." Natsume retorted to her accusation; recalling how he himself took a bath in oatmeal before.

Mikan glared at the boy slowly backing into the bathroom.

"You better not peek!" Mikan warned him before slamming the bathroom door.

"Like I would want to peek at you, Polka Dots!" Natsume called back.

"Don't make fun of my awesome mutation!" Mikan laughed back, glad for the change of mood.

Natsume shook his head. The most interesting thing was how a meal's worth of oatmeal was enough to fill a bathtub to her.

--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--

After the oatmeal bath, the red bumps reduced in itchiness and faded away within 4 days. After being told that she was no longer contagious, she was allowed to return to school 5 days later.

She skipped to her friends at their usual table in the library after class.

Natsume was reaching over to steal a cookie from Ruka's bag with his right hand, his left hand unconsciously scratching his back.

"Don't Natsume! There are nuts in these cookies. You're allergic to them." Ruka reprimanded him, quickly snatching the cookie out of the boy's hands.

Hotaru rose a brow at this. "Since when?"

"I found out when I was 5." Natsume rolled his eyes at the ice queen.

"Natsume!" Mikan greeted, walking up to the group. "Thanks for the help! I successfully escaped from Death's evil clutches!"

Ruka tilted his head at her comment. Didn't she just have the chicken pox?

"Oh, you helped her with her mutation problem? How?" Hotaru asked nonchalantly. Ruka's eyes looked like they were going to fall out of his eyes. Mutation problems?! What?!

"Just had her bathe in oatmeal." Natsume replied.

"Oatmeal?" Ruka asked; forgetting his confusion about the mutation. He turned to Hotaru, "I thought that only worked for hives?"

Natsume ignored the two and scratched a new found bump on his face.

"Natsume... when did you say you had chicken pox again?" Ruka asked, examining the red bump.

"5 after I ate a peanut butter sandwich. What about it-- Ah. Shit." Natsume said in realization.

He didn't have chicken pox at that time. It was the hives.

And not knowing that, he spent his time with a girl with chicken pox. And now he was itchy. And forming bumps, or as Polka would call it, 'mutating'.

Hotaru grinned at the boy's mistake, Mikan scratched the back of her head, feeling slightly guilty, and Ruka glanced at his friend with worry, placing his hand on his shoulder empathetically.

"We'll get some oatmeal ready and see if it works."

Natsume spent 6 days out of school due to the chicken pox.

--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--

_7 days later..._

"Natsume, how was mutating?" Mikan grinned at the boy who was finally able to return to class and hand in his report to a very shocked Narumi.

"Shut up, Polka Dots." Mikan groaned at his response, why did she have a feeling this was going to become a habit for him to call her that?

--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--

**Present Time**

The 3 middle school girls looked up at the senior girl with awe.

"OHHHHEMMMGEEE!!" Ria cried, fanning herself with her hand.

"That is sooo cute!!" Hitomi squealed.

"Who knew chicken pox could help Mikan receive such an affectionate name from the boy she loves..." Aoi stated dreamily.

"Well, that's--" Hotaru was cut off by the girls.

"There must a meaning behind this!" Ria declared.

"I know! Chicken pox must be the "Disease of Love"!" Aoi stated.

"Chicken pox aren't a disea--"

"That has got to be it!" Hitomi agreed. The girl's jumped up and down in excitement and ran out of the library.

"..." Hotaru sat there dumb founded that she was blown off. And then she frowned.

They never paid her.

--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--

It was to Mikan's utmost confusion the next day when she went to the hospital to visit Natsume (whom had just returned from a mission) and she saw a band of middle school girls running around cheering about some 'Disease of Love'.

Mikan shook her head, surely it was more like they were suffering from some kind of 'Malfunction of Brain'.

_Oh gosh_, she thought,_ I hope I was never that crazy in middle school._

"Hey, stop day dreaming, Polka Dots." Natsume said to her as she placed the flower's she had brought him. Mikan turned to him and grinned.

"Don't make fun of my awesome mutation, Natsume."

And with that, she bent down to give him a kiss.

--x--x--x--x--x--x--x-**The End**--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--

me: Aha. That was so fluffy and random with just that little touch of drama.

Koko: Please review?

me: For every review you give, one less auburn haired girl will mutate because of a chicken ;)


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